Monday, December 21, 2009

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Dec. 21, 2009) – Trailing by five at 27-22 with 6:39 left in the first half, the ETSU men’s basketball was able to find its stride offensively and ultimately outscored Jacksonville by 28 points the rest of the game, winning 93-70 Monday evening in a key early season Atlantic Sun Conference matchup at the ETSU/MSHA Athletic Center.

A crowd of 3,271 looked on as four ETSU players scored in double figures, while junior forward Tommy Hubbard (Boston) posted his seventh double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Buccaneers’ attack. The Bucs – who will not play again until a Jan. 4 road trip to USC Upstate – enter the Christmas break with a perfect 2-0 A-Sun record and 6-7 overall mark. Meanwhile, Jacksonville – the preseason league favorite – falls to 1-7, 0-2.

“That was a great performance from our team,” said ETSU head coach Murry Bartow, whose team defeated Jacksonville 85-68 in last season’s A-Sun Tournament final. “Jacksonville was the preseason pick in our league, so to come out here and have our players respond like this was nice to see.

“What more can you say about Tommy (Hubbard) and what he does for us – and then to have other guys continue to step up like Micah (Williams), Justin (Tubbs) and Jarvis (Jones) – that’s the type of performances we need from our guys as we head into the league.”

While Hubbard finished with yet another double-double, junior guard Micah Williams (Manchester) pitched in a team high 17 points, junior guard Justin Tubbs (Trussville, Ala.) tossed in 16, and sophomore guard Jarvis Jones (Memphis) added 14 in the winning effort. Meanwhile, freshman point guard Bruce Grimm (Rochester, Ind.) made just his second career start and responded with six points, six assists and four steals, while turning the ball over just twice.

For Jacksonville, A-Sun preseason player of the year Ben Smith finished with a game high 32 points, while Travis Cohn netted 15.